The New York Liberty, once trailing by 10 points, defeated the Indiana Fever 85-73 Thursday night to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three East semifinal series.

Liberty guard Cappie Pondexter scored 23 of her 28 points in the first half, but that’s not the half in which the Fever failed.

The Liberty outscored the Fever 26-6 over an 11-minute stretch of the second half, repeatedly converting turnovers and blown layups into points. The Fever trailed 66-61 early in the fourth quarter before falling behind 83-63

The Liberty led 39-25 in total rebounds and 22-9 in second-chance points. The Fever shot 53 percent in the first half, and until a late flurry, 23 percent in the second half.

Essence Carson averaged 3.7 points for the season came off the bench to score 17 for the Liberty. Taj McWilliams-Franklin added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Tamika Catchings led the Fever with 18 points and added seven rebounds and six assists. Fever guard Katie Douglas, a 13.7-point scorer this year, missed her only shot and was shut out. She hadn’t gone scoreless in a playoff game since Sept. 5, 2003, when she was with Connecticut.